Gang Of Rhythm
by Kit-Cat Star
Summary: They're prisoners but they're going to escape to freedom from the crimes they may or may not have not committed - after all, there are no worries on the earth tonight... AU based off of a music video featuring Team Natsu as prisoners, Zancrow as a twisted police officer, and Cobra as the chasing bounty hunter.
1. Chapter 1

**This is an AU/Alternate Universe based off of the music video 'Gang of Rhythm' by Walk off the Earth.**

**The story is set in a world without magic but with the same technology as in canon Fairy Tail. Meaning, they use trains and carriages to move around, but there are some special and super expensive cars that very few people own. There are guns, too, and school systems similar to those in America and with college. ****Also, any character that died during the manga or anime - not before, like Lucy's mom - is still alive.**

**Pairing(s) (will update if other pairings are put into fic): Jerza**

* * *

_I got this old guitar, the strings are rusty but it's all I need_

_Bring in the kick drum, it can bring back the beat,_

_Let's gather 'round and sing a song_

* * *

Under the sweltering sun laid a long train track. It wound across mountains, through tunnels, and across bridges over rivers. It snaked around forests and traveled across the endless golden plains. The railroad went past towns, cities, and small farmhouses. It was a never ending track, bound to go on forever.

\- Until it did stop, of course. Right at the edge of a forest in the middle of nowhere, the train track was unfinished. Labor was expensive, and no one was willing to continue the railroad. The goal of the governments included was to create a track that went from one end of the coast, in a country called Pergrande, all the way to a little town named Clover in Fiore, which was surrounded by mountains but still near the ocean. It was a feat no one had ever accomplished before.

However, they soon ran into difficulties. Halfway through the building of the railroad, the men hired to do the job quit because of unfair working conditions, minimum wage, and the numerous and mysterious deaths that had occurred. By then, the railroad had been completed in Pergrande but was still unfinished in Fiore, the railraod was to run through.

The country of Pergrande did not send anyone to help - in fact, they backed out of the railroad construction, leaving Fiore's government to solve the problem of theirs.

The government quickly figured something out: They would use criminals from local prisons to complete a section of the railroad, which would connect the tracks together. It would be a quick solution, cheaper than the earlier plan as they would not have to pay the criminals but instead expand their sentence terms to fit the construction of the railroad.

Not two days after the plan was put into effect, one government official was walking down the hallways of the local Magnolia Prison, two guards behind him. He stopped before one cell, and, pulling out the key, unlocked the cell door. There was the beginning of a protest from the person within.

"It's not time for my trial yet, so why are ya-" The government official pulled out the prisoner with one hand, his fist in the prisoner's striped shirt.

"Don't talk. I'll explain," the official replied, glaring. The prisoner frowned but nodded, his hands forced behind his back as one guard put on handcuffs.

They started to walk back down the hall, the prisoner glancing back at the official out of the corner of his dark eyes every few seconds.

"Are you going to talk...?" the dark haired prisoner asked.

The official ignored him.

They kept walking.

Finally, a few minutes later, they were in a small interrogation room. Pushing the prisoner inside, the official turned to the guards.

"Stay out here," he ordered. "If he tries to attack, you can intervene... although I doubt he will."

They nodded and took their positions. The official, putting a hand up to his long, black hair that was tied in a ponytail, following the prisoner into the interrogation room. The prisoner was already sitting in one chair, so the dark haired official sat across from him.

"Gray Fullbuster, 22 years old, correct?" the official asked.

The prisoner grunted. "That's me. What do you want? My trail isn't until -"

"I'm not here to talk about your reasons for being in prison - although the rules state that I have to mention them. Stripping in public and h-" Before the official could finish, Gray Fullbuster shook his head.

"Innocent."

"A bystander caught a video of you stripping, Fullbuster."

"Of that - I'm guilty, yeah, I should be fined for that. Not put in jail, though, just 'cause I flashed a couple it was an _accident._ But the second..." the prisoner grew even more serious and somber, if it was possible. "Innocent."

The official didn't press the subject. "You have been called because of a recent national decision to let all unverified prisoners and convicted prisoners with minor infringes of the law to help serve their country."

"I'm being put into the army? That's legal?" Gray asked.

"No. You will not be drafted into the army - you be helping with the construction of the still unfinished railroad project that was designed to connect one coast of the Pergrande kingdom to Clover Town," the official said, purple eyes flashing behind his glasses when Gray had spoken. "This includes manual labor and possible death, in which case we would alert your family. Although in your case, you have no _living _family."

"Eh? Well, that's better than rotting away in a prison until my trial," Gray Fullbuster said, shrugging as he ran a hand through his spiky hair. He'd chosen to ignore the intended barb in the official's voice. "When do I start? And who are you, anyway?"

The official's eyes flashed again. "I am Lahar, the Head Captain of the Custody Enforcement Unit, and you start at eight o'clock tomorrow morning, Fullbuster."

* * *

"Natsu Dragneel. 22 years old. Convicted for arson of a major church, tearing down all of the trees in a local park, several fistfights that landed others in hospitals, attempted theft of an old man, arson of two shops, and aided destruction of two towns... were you a part of a cult or a gang?" Doranbolt asked the prisoner, who was yawning as Doranbolt listed off all of his crimes.

Natsu shook his head.

"Well, this is a lot of property damage. Whoa - there's _another _page of all of your crimes! Destruction of an apartment complex, destroying four restaurants, assault of another individual that goes by the name of Kageyama, assaulting the leader of Kageyama's gang, destroying -"

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before. Skip to the exciting stuff, will ya?" Natsu said, waving an arm. "Plus, I can explain all of that."

"Oh? Then why don't you?" Doranbolt challenged.

"Okay!" Natsu quickly brightened. "The arson and destruction - that was all accidental. I found a lighter once. Never threw it away. I still had it on me when they arrested me. And the theft of that old man - I didn't rob that geezer, I was hugging him because I thought he was someone I knew. Turns out it wasn't. Cagey llama and Merry Gore, they were part of a gang that tried to mess with me 'cause I burned down their hideout."

"You don't need to explain it all," Doranbolt interrupted. "And the reports say _Kageyama _and _Erigor, _not...the names you just said."

"Right. Whatever."

The two men were sitting down in a room not unlike the same Gray Fullbuster and Lahar were, in the same prison facility located in Era. Doranbolt was attempting to follow the standard procedures for the prisoner, but as he had found out, Dragneel had too many crimes to list. None were too terribly serious, although Dragneel had burnt down a church and destroyed parts of a few towns. Doranbolt's eyes widened when he realized there was a _third _page with more listed, all having to do with a fight, arson, or minor destruction.

"So why am I here? I already paid any fines for damage, and my sentence says I'm supposed to be here for the next few months," Natsu said. "My cases are closed."

"Yes, but because of a recent - hold on one second."

Doranbolt dug through a small folder until he'd found one paper he was looking for. Clearing his throat, he read, "Because of a recent national decision to let all unverified prisoners and convicted prisoners with minor infringes of the law to help serve their country..."

* * *

"Eh? Do I look like I can do-" the young lady paused, waiting a second, brown eyes bulging in comical horror "-_manual labor?!"_

"No," the government official admitted, looking up for once second before reading the rest of the paper's words. "But you've been chosen as a part of this project to help with the construction of the still unfinished railroad project that was designed to connect one coast of the Pergrande kingdom to Clover Town. As stated before, this includes manual labor and possible death, in which case we would alert your family."

The blonde, 21, slouched in her seat. "I'm too pretty for manual labor! Too lazy!"

The government official, who went by the name of Nadal, said, "Too bad, Lucy Heartfilia. You will be moving to the holding cell where you will be kept at night today, and tomorrow at eight am you will be working on the national railroad project. Yes, you will be doing manual labor."

Lucy groaned.

* * *

"Take me to Erza Scarlet's cell, please," the man requested.

"Who are you?" the guard asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I am from Fiore's government - you should be expecting a Serena?" The government official spoke up.

"Er - that's right. Just... be careful when you go in there. There's a reason she's in maximum level security," the prison guard said as he led Serena to the cell. Once there, he opened up the cell for Serena.

"Why do you say that-"

Just then, eyes glowed from the back of the dimly lit cell. A woman, though in the standard prison outfit, stood redoubtable and formidable as she took a step forward, revealing long red hair and striking eyes. Though lean, she had apparent muscles.

"Are you sure she's on the list?" The guard said.

Serena nodded. "Scarlet is on the list. She was chosen because of her strength."

"What list?" Erza Scarlet's voiced boomed. The prison guard trembled in fear.

Serena turned to the redhead. "Erza Scarlet, 24 years old," he stated. "You have been chosen to help out with a railroad project for the government. You will assist Fiore starting tomorrow, but you need to leave today."

Erza said nothing, but still glared at Serena and the prison guard, who almost wet himself when she glanced at him.

"Scarlet, if I may ask... why are you in prison? Murder? Theft?" Serena asked.

The frightening monster, the terrifying demon, and the one lady the prison guard had never wanted to even ever see faced Serena with her deadliest look.

The prison guard fainted.

Serena just stared.

"If that is all... may we go now?" Erza asked.

* * *

That night, several carriages were sent to the prison, where they would escort chosen prisoners to the unfinished railroad and to their assigned rooms where the criminals would be staying. Each carriage was made to fit four, and the guards arranged the criminals by some unknown order.

Natsu glared at the man who had pushed him into the carriage. "Bastard! I could have gotten in myself!" he yelled. He stopped screaming when another man, this time a prisoner, was shoved into the carriage. The criminal had dark, spiky hair and drooping eyes. He was also struggling to get out of his clothing but couldn't as both men were handcuffed.

"Hey, who are you?" Natsu asked.

There was no reply.

"Answer me!" Natsu growled.

No reply.

"Why the hell aren't you talking-"

"Gray Fullbuster," the other finally said. "That's my name."

Natsu blinked. "I'm Natsu Dragneel."

Gray snorted. "That's _you?" _he said. "You're Dragneel?"

"Yeah..." Natsu narrowed his eyes as he watched Gray's face. "What's it to you?"

"Lots of people know your name. You're the reckless pyro who destroyed several buildings in just a couple of hours," Gray said. "I never thought I'd be talking to Dragneel in the flesh. Although, I never thought Dragneel would look so weird. What moron has pink hair?"

"Say that to my face, droopy eyes!" Natsu said.

"I just did!"

Before they could get into a real fight, two more prisoners were brought into the carriage, so the two became quiet. Both didn't stop glaring at the other man, however.

Only one carriage over, Lucy was just starting to sit down. She looked at the other three in there - one was so fat that he took up the entire row, meaning that she had to squeeze on the other side with two normal sized people.

The first thing she did after sitting down was surveying the other criminals. According to what the government official had said, everyone chosen either had done a lighter offense, like a small robbery, or was still waiting for their trial and was undetermined. The fat man had black hair with a small curl on the top of his head. The other man, sitting two people away from Lucy, had spiky orange hair in a long pony tail. All of his features were sharp.

The only other girl had short, wavy blue hair and friendly eyes. She was sitting next to Lucy and gave her an apologetic smile when Lucy had to sit next to her.

"Hello! I'm Levy McGarden!" the blue haired girl greeted. "These two are Jet and Droy." She pointed at Droy as the fat man and Jet as the skinny.

Lucy smiled. "Lucy Heartfilia."

"Oh! I know you! You were in the newspaper because you'd run away from your family... and stole several objects from your father," Levy said.

"Yep. That's why I'm here," Lucy said as she grew slightly bitter when thinking about her own father had put her in jail. He'd called it robbery, but Lucy had only been taking her most important possessions when she had run away - some of _her_ clothes, a couple of expensive necklaces _that she owned_, and _her_ money. She'd been put in jail mostly because of her father's influence and desire to get rid of her. "What about you, Levy?"

"Have you heard of the Solid Script Trials?" Levy asked. Lucy nodded.

"That was when several books and important scripts were stolen from the Era's main library, wasn't it? That was that you?"

Levy laughed. "I know, people were expecting someone else that was doing it. But it was Droy, Jet, and I that did it. We were only doing what we needed to survive. Of course, the police didn't see it that way."

"I don't think anyone would see stealing books as surviving, Levy," Jet admitted.

Lucy was about to agree, but just as she opened her mouth to speak, the carriage lurched forward. As Lucy was sitting next to one of the windows she was able to look outside. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Jet and Droy doing the same while Levy attempted, although she was too small to.

"We're moving!" Lucy said. "Oh, great... I'm not ready for work!"

A few carriages over, the formidable Erza Scarlet glared at all of the other prisoners until they couldn't even look in her general direction without whimpering. They weren't sure exactly who this redhead thought she was, but they knew with one glance that they were not to mess with her. Even if all three of the men sitting with her were huge, buff, and scary looking as well.

When she thought no one was looking, Erza's glare turned into a sad smile as she recalled days of the past. The exact reason why she had been placed in handcuffs and shipped of to jail, sure, but they had been the good old days.

One prisoner saw her expression and pointed it out.

The other two men in the carriage learned not to even talk to Erza Scarlet as the criminal who had pointed out her face slumped down, knocked out, Erza's right foot coming back to the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

_I got a shaker too, the kind of sound that wants to make you move_

_Bring in the uke, we'll complete the groove_

_Let's gather round and sing a song_

* * *

The next morning, all of the prisoners were forced to get up at eight in the morning.

Natsu groaned as he staggered out into the sunshine, blinking when the rays of the sun hit his eyes. He was lined up with the rest of the criminals as some sheriff that was supposed to be supervising took role as if it was a classroom on the first day of school.

"Natsu Dragneel?" the sheriff said in what Natsu that was an annoying, almost high-pitched voice.

"Here," Natsu grumbled. The sheriff snickered at the name "Dragneel", and Natsu glared.

_His laugh is even worse, _Natsu decided.

Almost right after Natsu's name was called out, Gray Fullbuster's was as well. Natsu quickly recognized him as the young man from the night before - the one he'd sat in the carriage with and almost fought.

"Bastard," Natsu muttered. It was aimed towards Gray, but he'd spoken so softly that no one heard him.

After role call, all of the prisoners were lined up where the train tracks would be soon completed. It was already mapped out that the railroad would run past the outskirts of Era - where Natsu was - after coming from the port Hargeon. Then it would continue past a city called Magnolia and another town. There was one planned train station also being built out in the middle of nowhere, and another station in one last town before finally finishing at Clover.

In the outskirts of Era, there was a giant forest that the railroad would be built through. Although the forest was dense before finally becoming farmland, when the governments of Fiore and Pergrande had mapped out the railroad's locations they had already cleared out most of the trees that the path was supposed to go through. All that left for the prisoners to do would be to build the actual railroad itself.

"Alright!" the high-pitched man said. "My name is Sheriff Zancrow and I don't want any funny business. I have been hired to supervise you until the railroad is complete! If anyone decides to speak out, they will get a year added on to whatever sentence they have already received! Two years if they rebel, and three if they escape!"

Zancrow paused for a moment before continuing. "This project should take anywhere from a year to three before the construction will be complete. You will finish serving out your sentence here, and if your sentence ends before the railroad is finished - too bad. No matter who you are, even if you only have one month left to serve, you will still work on the railroad without benefits or money until these tracks are finished."

Natsu narrowed his eyes. _There's no way I'm working on these tracks for so long! I was supposed to be free in a few months!_

Not even a day out working on the train tracks, and Natsu was already thinking of a plan to escape.

A few criminals over, Gray was thinking the same thing. He had a feeling that his trial, originally supposed to only be a few weeks away, was now being pushed back until the railroad was complete.

Cursing, Gray picked up the tool he was supposed to be working with, although it was hard with shackles around his feet and handcuffs on his wrists. After a few minutes he finally found a way to hold the tool without any trouble and started to work.

Lucy was working with Levy on one side and another female criminal on the other. She complained to Levy as she dropped her tool many times and also found it hard to pick it back up because of her restraints.

"This is unfair!" she said as she attempted to pick the tool back up for the fifth time.

"It really isn't," Levy agreed. "I'm already sweating and we haven't been out here for more than fifteen minutes!"

"It's the summer weather. The temperature must be a hundred degrees outside! I wish we could escape, but..." Lucy looked around to make sure Zancrow wasn't around. He wasn't - instead, he was watching Droy work, although the fat man was having trouble. Lucy lowered her voice as she said, "I can barely move in these handcuffs. They dig in my skin."

"I can't have three years added to my sentence," Levy said.

Lucy nodded. "Neither can I - but at the same time, I'm _not _working on this stupid railroad!"

"Should that be counted as speaking out?" Zancrow asked Lucy as he walked over. Lucy stiffened when she realized that the man, with long and spiky blonde hair, had heard her complaining.

"No...sir," Lucy said, gritting her teeth. "I was just joking?"

Rolling his eyes, Zancrow turned away. Lucy wondered how he wasn't hot and stuffy - although Zancrow had odd sandals and a short sleeved shirt on, the long dark pants made Lucy feel warm just by looking at them.

Lucy tried to work, but it was just to hard for her to. She saw Levy struggling as well but the blue haired young woman wasn't having as much trouble as Lucy was. After dropping her tool for the ninth time, Lucy was ready to give up and scream.

"Excuse me," she heard the person on her other side, opposite from Levy, say. She turned her head to see a woman with red hair. She had eyes that seemed to glare at everything she looked at, and Lucy shrunk back.

"Yes...?"

"You're holding it wrong. Hold long objects like this." the woman with scarlet hair shows her how, even with handcuffs, she was able to effectively hold the tool Lucy was supposed to be using.

After a few seconds of fumbling with her tool that she had just picked back up, Lucy found that the stranger's way was much easier than her original. "Thank you!" she said. "What's your name?"

"Scarlet. Erza Scarlet. And aren't you Lucy Heartfilia? I read about you in the news."

"That's me! Thanks again, Erza," Lucy said as she turned the other way to show Levy.

"Hold on, Lucy," Erza said. Lucy faced the redhead again.

"Is there something else you wanted to say...?" Lucy asked.

Erza started to say something Lucy didn't understand, but paused when Zancrow walked past them once. After he was far enough away, Erza whispered, "I heard you discussing escape?"

"Yes," Lucy said in a lower voice. "Why do you ask?"

"I have a plan, actually," Erza said. "I have been thinking about it ever since I was told that we were to work on this construction of the railroad. However, it requires more than one person..."

Lucy's eyes brightened. "Okay - can we include Levy and her two friends in on this?"

"It depends. Too many people may ruin this plan I have," Erza said cautiously. "But if possible... then yes."

Construction went on. The building of the railroad took an unexpected turn when, later in the week, it started to rain. All of the criminals got a day off as they stayed in their cells, which held about six people. Luckily, Erza, Lucy, and Levy were all put into one cell and so they were able to talk about escape in hushed whispers. They also discussed how they had been placed in jail - Lucy explained her father's actions, Levy talked about how she was raised homeless and parentless, but when asked Erza had said that her reason was "too long of a story". Lucy saw that Levy was elated when Erza was okay for including Jet and Droy, but they never got a chance to talk to the two boys.

However, there were two more boys that the three girls met: Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster.

It had been random - every day, the prisoners were put into a different order on the tracks, so it was only the first day that Lucy had been working next to Erza and Levy. She'd worked beside Erza another day and Levy on a third, but a few days after the rain had finally stopped, Lucy was not placed next to either Levy or Erza.

"Gray Fullbuster. You?"

"Lucy Heartfilia. Nice to meet you."

"Same."

They worked for a few minutes in silence before starting a small conversation. More like, Lucy talked and Gray listened, commenting every once and a while. Finally, Zancrow told them to shut up and go back to work, so they were silent once again.

Lucy thought about Erza's plan - so far, all they had was a tiny structure of how they wanted their escape to happen, but not much. All they knew was that they needed at least two people and a distraction.

"Hey, Lucy," Gray said, jerking Lucy out from her thoughts.

"Zancrow," she hissed.

"Zancrow's on the other side. He can't hear us," Gray scoffed.

Lucy nodded. "Then what do you want?"

"Do you have a plan for escape?"

Levy meeting Natsu had been very similar, although louder and filled with more of Zancrow's threatening to extend their sentence if they didn't stop talking. Both times, Levy and Lucy had said yes, but didn't elaborate.

Until, that is, Gray approached Lucy and Natsu came up to Levy.

It was on their first break day - one day a month, Zancrow gave them a day off. The criminals had been working for exactly two weeks. The criminals were all allowed to talk in the compound that they were staying in, although numerous guards as well as Zancrow were stationed around all exits and doors.

Erza, Levy, and Lucy were sitting at one table alone, working out the details of their escape. Jet and Droy were getting food and hadn't yet been told of the plan, but Levy said that she would tell them as soon as possible. Then, two boys had happened to sit down on different sides of the table at the same time.

"Hey! I was here first!" both boys said to each other. "Go away!"

Natsu growled. "Stop copying me, Fullbuster!" he yelled.

At the same time, Gray said the same thing but adding Dragneel instead of his own last name.

Both leaned over the table and glared at each other. "You wanna go?!" they shouted furiously.

Gray pulled back an arm as Natsu got ready to punch. Their fists flew at the same exact time, and -

_Bam!_

Erza had punched both boys at the same time. Natsu and Gray slumped back, each with bloody noses from the force of Erza's punch.

"That hurt!" Gray and Natsu both whined.

"You two! Shut up! Why are you here?" Erza demanded. The pink haired man and the dark haired man faced her, eyes wide with fear.

"I - uh - I was told you guys were thinking about leaving this place," Natsu squeaked.

* * *

It took a few minutes for the five of them to organize. Erza was furious that Lucy and Levy had both told others about wanting to escape.

"Does anyone else know?" She asked, glaring.

"N-no!" Lucy whimpered.

"I d-didn't tell anyone else," Levy promised. Erza kept glaring at the two girls until she decided that they had been put through enough torment - which they had, as the two other girls looked like that they had been to Hell and back.

"Good. Now, since you two have included these two men - Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster, am I correct?" Erza asked the two, and they quickly nodded. "Yes, since you have decided to include Fullbuster and Dragneel, they will be a part of our plan. Their strength may come to our advantage," she said, smirking. "On a day when Zancrow is not paying attention..."

The pieces put themselves together in Erza's head, yet she still couldn't complete the puzzle. She thought about the amount of people who were supposed to be in the plan - seven in all. Erza, Lucy, Levy, Natsu, Gray, Jet, and Droy - that many people probably all couldn't escape. Plus, she didn't even know why most of these criminals were even in prison other than Lucy and Levy.

"Natsu," she said. "Why are you in prison?"

Natsu grinned sheepishly. "Uh... accidentally destroying several buildings and a couple of fights. And arson."

"So your specialty is... destruction?"

"Yeah."

"What about you, Gray?" Erza asked.

"Stripping."

Erza frowned. "Stripping would normally be considered legal. Unethical, but not illegal..."

"In public, Erza," Gray replied, coughing. "My job is _not _stripping. I had a different occupation and I was in college. And the stripping was accidental, like Natsu's mindless destruction. I was just walking and then, all of a sudden, _whoa_! There went my clothes! Actually, I'm surprised it hasn't happened to me while working out here yet."

"How does that even happen?" Lucy asked.

"It's a habit, okay?" Gray grumbled.

"Hmm... usually, that would only result in a fine," Erza said. "What else did you do, Gray?"

"Nothing else," Gray replied.

Erza stared at Gray's face. Something told her that he wasn't telling her everything, but... she knew how to tell if a person was "evil" or not a "good" person. Gray seemed alright - maybe misguided, and maybe having the unfortunate stripping problem, but all in all, she knew that she could probably trust him with her life. Erza decided not to press.

Natsu, too, although not with anything easily breakable. Levy and Lucy were both good girls, and from their stories Erza concluded that the reason Lucy was even in jail was because her father had enough influence to put her there. And if Jet and Droy had been with Levy, then they were good people too. Levy seemed to be the sort of person that could also easily tell if a human had a good character or not.

"...Alright," Erza said. "Let me tell you what I have so far on my plan..."

* * *

_Three years before..._

_Erza Scarlet, 21, walked aimlessly into a cafe. She walked up to the counter and ordered a cup of black coffee. It was not until she sat down with a steaming cup that someone else joined her - a man with blue hair and a bright red tattoo, wearing simple clothing. Erza, meanwhile, had a white blouse and a short, dark blue skirt._

_"Erza," he greeted._

_"Jellal," she replied, smiling. "How are you today?"_

_"...Busy." The tone of his voice made Erza tense. She set down her cup onto the table._

_"What's going, Jellal?" she asked, smile gone and face suddenly serious._

_Jellal opened his mouth to speak, first looking around the cafe before lowering his voice slightly, as if he had a deep, dark secret to tell and she was the only one who could ever know. In fact, she was the only one he ever wanted to know. "Erza... they've found me out."_

_Erza blinked, shaking her head. "Excuse me?"_

_"I have to go into hiding. They know that I'm Seigrain, Erza."_

_"'They'-"_

_Just then, there was a shout from the front of the cafe. One of the workers was shoved aside from where she was standing as several angry and tough looking men came into the cafe. After a few seconds of looking around, they headed straight for Erza and Jellal's table, where the two were sitting, frozen in shock that Jellal had finally been hunted down by his worst enemies._


	3. Chapter 3

_We're like a locomotive _

_Un__der the big hot sun_

* * *

It took a few more days to work out a plan that would result in all seven of them escaping successfully. According to Erza, it was the plan that had the least amount of risk, although there was still a huge chance that not all of them would be able to escape.

"Why are we doing this, anyway? Even if we get away, what are we going to do afterwards?" Gray pointed out one day.

"Start new lives," Lucy answered immediately.

It was another rainy day in early summer, meaning that the weather was humid and _horrible. _They were all sitting together at a table - Erza, Gray, Natsu, Lucy, Levy, and this time Jet and Droy were also with them. Droy took up half of his side of the bench, leaving Erza, Gray, Natsu, Levy, and Lucy to squeeze together on the other side while Jet sat next to Droy.

"Start new lives?" Natsu echoed. "That sounds like crap."

"What do you think will happen after we escape, Natsu?" Lucy said. "Live like we did before? We'll have to change our names, our identities, _everything _if we don't want to be caught. I can't be Lucy Heartfilia anymore - I'll have to be something else, like Lucy Ashley."

"Have you already mapped out your entire life?" Levy said, teasing, to Lucy.

To everyone's surprise, Lucy nodded, and said, "Sort of, actually. I've created a personality, a name, and goals. I'm going to be living on the other side of Fiore, if not in another country, that is."

"No matter what, we wont be able to be in this area anymore," Gray said. "People might not know who I am, or Lucy, because brown eyes, blue eyes, black hair, blonde hair - those are all common traits. Loads of people have those characteristics - on the other hand, pink, blue, red, and orange hair? You four will stick out like sore thumbs." As he did this, he pointed at Natsu, Levy, Erza, and Jet, in order. "And Droy... well, he's Droy."

"It's all muscle!" the fat man said. Jet gave him a sympathetic pat on Droy's shoulder.

"Hey! Pink hair's cool!" Natsu said, protesting.

Gray rolled his eyes. "I never said it wasn't, moron, although it's more of a fashion disaster than anything else."

He put the palm of his hands underneath his chin as he thought about their plan. It wasn't really well-thought out, but after days of coming up with nothing, they did not have any other good ideas.

_All I know is that we can't be caught, _he thought. _Because then we'll all get three years added onto our sentences... and I can't afford that._

He wasn't sure if Zancrow had been lying or not, or if the blond man even had the authority to do so, but he wasn't completely sure he wanted to risk it in case Zancrow was telling the truth and they were all forced to stay in jail or work on the railroad for another few years. Gray's trial would probably be pushed back, and even then he could be put in prison for life...

_This isn't fair, _he thought. _Life isn't fair._

"Gray?"

He blinked. "Huh?"

"You were spacing out there," Lucy said. Erza, having been the one to speak his name, nodded.

"Do you have any other ideas for escaping?" she asked.

"...No," Gray said. "I don't."

He just had to sit back and hope that their plan worked, because if not... Zancrow could say that they had been "rebelling" and only add two years. However, Gray knew that Zancrow simply wasn't that sort of person.

The sheriff would probably find away to send them all to prison until they died.

* * *

Three Years Before

_"Jellal," Erza whispered as the men started to approach their table. "How did they find out?"_

_"Is there anyone else in the world with blue hair and this awful tattoo, Erza?" Jellal replied. The redhead didn't answer, but stood up as the first man and apparent ringleader arrived to the table. With pale, pale skin and gray hair, he almost looked like an ragged old man - except the military outfit he was wearing and those scary red eyes begged to differ. Behind him stood a few others - henchmen._

_"Can I help you with anything?" Erza asked as he strutted to their small table in the cafe._

_"Ah, yes... can you lead me to a certain Jellal, by any chance?" the man said._

_Erza glanced at Jellal, who had also risen from his chair and was backing up. His wrists twisted in his pockets._

"On three," _he mouthed. Erza gave the tiniest of nods._

_"I'm afraid not, sir. And who are you?" Erza asked to man, hoping to divert his attention._

"One," _Jellal mouthed._

_"I am... well, you may know me as Mr. Brain, head of the Six Prayers Bank in Crocus. That is my public face."_

"Two."

_"Jellal knows me better as Zero, a ...different side to me. __Isn't that right, Jellal?" Zero turned to face Jellal._

_However, not a second before, Jellal had mouthed _"Three".

_And Erza Scarlet, better known as Titania by those who had ever faced her in a fight, whipped into action._

_Jellal drew a knife out of his pocket and slashed Zero. It left only a cut on his neck, but it was enough to scare the man into staggering backwards. Meanwhile, Erza took out one of Zero's goons with one kick, her skirt still unruffled. A black and white haired man went down, K.O.'d. Then, another man faced Erza, matching her attacks blow for blow. However, Erza splashed her cup of coffee in the fast man's face, and before he had time to react, the lithe man also fainted. Erza faced her next attacker - the only female of the group._

_Jellal was holding his own against Zero and a large man with ginger hair. Using the knife, Jellal aimed towards the larger, unknown man, and because he was so startled, Jellal was able to knock out the man with a blow to the head without stabbing the man at all. He turned towards Zero, who was running with his fists about to connect with Jellal's face._

_The girl was easy to get rid of, leaving Erza with a large, jovial looking man with a frightening grin that resembled the Cheshire Cat's. After a few minutes, he was also down, leaving Erza panting, surrounded by knocked out baddies._

_Jellal got in a lucky hit to the temple that caused Zero to crumble. The blue haired man grinned as the boss of the gang went down._

_"That was... easier than I expected," Erza said. She had no injuries except for bruised knuckles and one small bruise on her arm from when one of the henchman, a man with reflexes almost faster than hers, had punched her._

_"He only brought his top men with him, but they didn't help. Thanks for backing me up, Erza," Jellal said, although they both knew that it was more that Jellal had backed up Erza instead of the reverse. He too had no major wounds._

_"No problem, Jellal," Erza replied. She flushed when Jellal pulled her in for a hug in the middle of the ruined cafe, with tables flipped, patrons having left in fright, and all of the cafe workers disappeared. Erza closed her eyes as the hug lasted more than just a few seconds, enjoying the warmth of his arms and wishing that the moments could last forever._

_There was a strange noise from Jellal all of the sudden - sort of a grunt. At the same time, she heard glass break._

_Jellal collapsed into her arms, groaning, and Erza saw with horror that the back of his shirt was stained red._

_"Jellal! Jellal! _Jellal!" _Erza screamed his name over and over again, but there was no reply. Setting him down carefully, she ran towards the closest window, which showed the city and the street, as the cafe was on a corner._

_Standing a street away was a tanned man with red hair, putting down his sniper and running back into the busy crowds._

_Erza filled with dread._

_Jella had been shot in the back._

_She looked around wildly, realizing that she could either move Jellal to a safe location or run after that man who had shot Jellal. Either way, Jellal wasn't guaranteed to survive._

_"I need to bring him to a hospital," she said to herself as Jellal groaned again and shifted. Blood started to pull around his body. "But if I call a hospital..."_

_She knew what she had to do - it would get her into trouble, she knew, but it was for Jellal._

Anything for him, _she thought, steeling herself. After putting everything she could to stop the wound from bleeding, she picked up Jella's already pale body. Though she was carrying the weight of someone heavier than her on her back, she quickly ran outside the cafe. She was scared that if she moved him too much that he would loose more blood but decided to risk it as she raced down the street, people looking at her, confused and concerned._

_Erza knew where the nearest hospital was - in Jellal's line of work, she knew that she would have to memorize all of the important locations just in case something such as this happened. Luckily, the "nearest hospital" was only a few streets away, so within about four minutes she was standing outside the doors._

_She paused for one second to collect her breath before barging inside._

_A few minutes later, after being pounded with questions, they managed to get Jellal's body into a room. To Erza, it seemed like he was dead as his skin was almost stark white._

_"What is his name?" a doctor asked her outside the room, where inside people rushed to save his life. Erza collapsed in a chair before answering._

_"Jellal Fernandes," she said._

_A nearby nurse gasped. "But that's...!"_

_"The infamous Era drug lord and head of the local crime ring," Erza finished. "Yes, I know."_

_"And you are his...?" the doctor asked, recording every word of their conversation. The nurse had already told another to collect the police._

"Girlfriend," _Erza almost said, but remained formal._

_"Accomplice."_

* * *

It had been a month and a half since the construction of the railroad had started.

Zancrow had given them another update on the length - he said that if they were to "work your asses off", then the criminals would probably finish their portion of the railroad within two years.

However, he said that if they didn't the train tracks would probably take about four years. Minimum.

Lucy ran through the list of curses that she knew, applying Zancrow's name to each and every one of them.

After a few minutes, she realized Natsu was staring at her. He'd been assigned to work next to her that day. "What?" she snapped.

"You've been saying some really weird stuff for the last couple of minutes," he said. "Like, 'Screw Zancrow' and 'Zancrow can go to hell.'"

"I was talking out loud? What else did I say?"

"Yeah. And nothing big, although at one point you said, 'F-"

"Okay, never mind," Lucy inturrupted.

She resumed working, watching the man she had been cussing out berate one man for not working fast enough. Usually, Zancrow would hit the poor soul (although maybe the prisoner deserved it for whatever crime he did) with the butt of his rifle.

However, today, Lucy noticed that Zancrow didn't have the rifle on him.

Zancrow didn't seem to realize this either until he was about to hit the criminal - and then remembered that it wasn't in his arms. He looked around wildly, as if to accuse the prisoners of taking it. After a few seconds of this, Lucy watched him put down his hands in defeat.

"I'll be gone for only one minute! I don't want a single one of you to move or stop working, you hear me?!" Zancrow shouted to all of those working on the train tracks. There were a few murmurs of "Yes", and Zancrow, satisfied, walked over a half mile away. Over there was the compound where the criminals had been staying at as well as Zancrow.

"Natsu, look!" Lucy hissed to the pink haired young man.

"Yeah?"

"He's leaving for a few minutes. He left his rifle and is going to go get it. Now's our chance!"

She glanced over to where she saw Erza and Gray working next to one another. Farther down she knew that Levy, Jet, and Droy had been split up but still working in the same area. Erza and Gray were mouthing something to Levy and the two boys - she wasn't sure what it was, as she was too far away, but then Erza faced her and nodded.

_"It's time."_

Lucy saw Natsu grin. Using his tool, he quickly started to attack the shackles holding their feet together instead of the train tracks like he was supposed to. Within half a minute, and using what Lucy had realized was almost inhuman strength, Natsu had broken his shackles.

Lucy, however, had been working on hers and barely made a dent. Natsu started on Lucy's shackles for her.

The other criminals were still working - Lucy figured that they were too scared to even try to break free, for if Zancrow saw that they had been trying to escape then he would add on time to their sentence for "rebelling". She knew because she'd seen it happen the second or third day she'd been there, to one criminal she hadn't known the name of.

After Natsu had broken her shackles, she tried to get her hands out of the handcuffs but couldn't. She saw Natsu attempting to do the same but failed.

"We'd need a key for these," he said. "And I can't break these with the tools."

Lucy shook her head. "That doesn't matter - we need to get Erza and Gray and Levy and _run." _Because they were _free._

She glanced over at Erza and Gray and saw that Gray, thanks to his stripping habit, hadn't needed to try to break his shackles - he'd jumped straight out of them somehow. Hie was the only one with his handcuffs off, too - Erza's were still on.

She watched Erza ready her tool, and with _one swipe _Erza broken the shackles.

"Holy shit," she heard Natsu whisper. "It took me forever to break them!"

"We don't have time for that," Lucy said. "I need to help Levy, Jet, and Droy." Any second now, she knew that Zancrow would come back with his rifle. She'd already wasted two or three minutes, and she knew that at most, they probably had about ten.

She ran down the tracks until, a minute later, she saw Levy struggling with her shackles. Jet and Droy hadn't managed to break theirs, either.

"Uh oh," Lucy muttered. She held up her own tool, which she had brought along with her, and struck down at Levy's shackles.

Not even a dent.


	4. Chapter 4

_We're chained to the gang of rhythm_

_The song is never done_

* * *

Lucy attempted to break Levy's shackles.

There wasn't even a dent, due to Lucy's pitiful strength.

Lucy tried again, her and Levy rotating with trying to break the shackle. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Natsu, Gray, and Erza rushing towards her, Gray still the only one without handcuffs.

"Gray! Can you help me break Levy's chains?" she asked. Levy nodded.

Gray sped up until he was right in front of them. Natsu and Erza were still a bit behind. "Why me? Erza's stronger."

"Because we don't have any time to spare, and you're the only one without handcuffs," Lucy explained. "Hurry!"

Gray stared at the chains for a few seconds. "I don't think I can break them, but okay..." he said.

The tension rose as with each strike, not even a dent was put into the shackles. Erza and Natsu had reached them by then.

"It's no use," Gray said, panting for breath. "I can't break them."

Levy gasped. "But - no! Zancrow's coming back!"

Lucy whipped around and saw the blonde haired man in the distance. He hadn't yet realized that four of the criminals had freed themselves.

"We have to go, Lucy," Erza said. "We'll have to leave Levy, Droy, and Jet behind."

There was half a second of silence until, almost everyone at the same time said one word together. "What?!" everyone but the redhead exclaimed in shock at her bold words. The redhead nodded in conformation to what she had just said.

"I'm sorry, Levy, Droy, Jet," Erza said, face serious. "But we need to go _now _if we want to escape successfully."

"I can't leave Levy!" Lucy cried out.

"I'm sorry, but we gotta go," Gray said. He started to run forward.

"I..." Lucy saw Levy blink tears out of her eyes. "Just... go on without me."

"We'll be fine," Jet said. "We can finish up this railroad in no time, and by then we'll have served our sentence."

"A sentence you didn't deserve," Lucy said.

"We - we can just escape later," Droy said, half-jokingly. But everyone knew that this was their one chance to escape. After this, Lucy knew that Zancrow would make sure that no one would ever escape again. He would take extra measures to secure the criminals.

Lucy felt like crying as she dropped her tool in despair. Though they were in jail for a reason, she felt like that they had only done what they'd did to survive. Levy had told Lucy that they were three orphans, and no one would take them in or help them out. They couldn't get jobs, so they did whatever so that they didn't starve to death. "I'm so sorry, Levy," she said. "It was nice meeting you!"

"You too," Levy said. "Now go!"

Gray and Nastu were already running ahead, Erza starting to walk forward.

"Now, Lucy," Erza said softly.

Nodding, Lucy turned away. She started in a slow trot but broke out into a full sprint along with Erza, finding it hard to run with her handcuffs still on. Lucy turned back once to wave with Levy with both of her hands before narrowing her eyes, trying to run faster so that she and Erza could catch up to the two males ahead of them.

_I'll never forget you... Levy, Jet, Droy._

* * *

An hour later, they were trekking through the forest surrounding what was soon to be the railroad tracks as well as Era. So far, no one had been able to slip off their handcuffs except for Gray - even Erza found difficulty in doing so.

Natsu grumbled as he tried to slip out of his pair of handcuffs with his wrists. It was all in vain and all he had were sore arms and tired wrists.

"How did you get out of your handcuffs, Gray?" Natsu heard Erza ask.

"I have no idea. I was just thinking about how we needed to escape, and all of a sudden all of those chains and stuff were gone," Gray replied as he walked freely, swinging his arms.

Unlike the others, Gray seemed to be content. Natsu was irritated that he couldn't get his handcuffs off and also angry at Gray because he _could _get his handcuffs off. Natsu knew that Erza felt guilty about making the decision to leave Jet, Droy, and Levy behind. However, Natsu knew that if they had stayed for even another minute, Zancrow could have shot them all dead with his rifle.

Lucy hadn't spoken a word since they'd left the railroad tracks. While Erza was guilty, Natsu knew that she was trying to push it to the back of her mind. Lucy was probably full with guilt, as she'd been the first one to Levy, yet hadn't been able to help her friend. Then she'd asked Gray - not Natsu, or Erza, who had managed to free themselves, but Gray - to break the chains, simply because he didn't have handcuffs on.

Natsu wasn't sure - he was pretty conflicted. While it was true that they would most likely drag down the group, as the more people there were the more of a chance Zancrow would find them, Natsu felt bad that he hadn't had a chance to help free the other three.

"Hey, Lucy?"

Lucy turned her attention to him. "Yeah?" she said.

"You okay?" Natsu asked.

"I'm fine."

Natsu shrugged and kept walking. There was a few minutes of quiet, where none of the four spoke a word.

Finally, Natsu broke the silence. "I hear water up ahead!" he said.

Sure enough, about a hundred yards ahead and through the dense, thick population of trees was a long but skinny river with stones and leaves scattered around the banks. If there was sand, Natsu didn't see it - there were too many leaves for him to see if there was dirt or sand underneath. The trees thinned out, but only very slightly, and there was a fallen log.

"I think we are far enough that we can rest for a few minutes," Erza said as she sat on the log. "Why don't we use these stones to try to break apart our handcuffs?"

"But we can't break apart our handcuffs with our own hands," Natsu pointed out.

"Then we'll help each other."

Using the large stones, Gray helped break Lucy's handcuffs while Natsu broke apart Erza's. Once Natsu had, they switched, and Erza helped Natsu. It took almost ten minutes, but when they were done, Natsu and Lucy were jumping for joy while Erza rubbed her sore and red wrists with a smile on her face.

"I think we should wait a few more minutes here," she said. "While I do not think that we have time to dwaddle, we have a good source of clean water and can regain our energy here."

"Clean?" Gray echoed.

"I know this river," Erza said. "It comes from the nearby mountains. It's safe to drink."

After the group of four had filled up on water, they sat down on the log and told small stories about their old lives. Natsu talked about how he had once "robbed" an old man, Lucy told the other three about a day when she'd adopted a dog, and Gray shared a story from when he was a little boy. Apparently, he and his brother would get into the silliest competitions. By then, Erza saw that Lucy had cheered up.

"Hey, Erza," she said. "I know that Gray was in jail for stripping, and Natsu for arson... but why were you in jail? You told Levy and I that it was too long of a story, but now we have plenty of time."

Erza sighed. Natsu and Gray faced her eagerly, ready for another story. The three of them watched the redhead with expressions that said, _"You can't back out of this now!"_

"It was three years ago," she started. "No. It started in high school, about six or seven years ago, when Jellal and I started to date."

Natsu blinked. "Isn't that some dude who got busted for being a major drug and crime lord in Era? You were dating _him?"_

"Yes."

"Did you know what he really was?" Lucy asked.

_Natsu, Gray, Lucy... _Erza knew that the three of them were good people. They didn't like the idea of drugs or crime - Natsu had burnt buildings down, although it didn't seem like it had been on purpose. Lucy, Erza knew, shouldn't have even been in jail. It was only because of her father wanting to get rid of her, Lucy had explained, that she was in prison. And Gray... well, he seemed opposed to crimes as well, even if Erza knew there was more to him than he was letting on.

_But it's the same with me, _Erza thought. _I'm hiding more than I'm sharing... and it's time to fix that._

"Yes." Ignoring Lucy's gasp, Erza continued. "I never helped him, and I was never a real part of his job... he was forced into it, actually, by another young lady who went by the name of Ultear. Us two made him into what he is. I was always against everything he did with his job, as I always tried to follow the law, while Ultear blackmailed him and tried to bring him into the shadows. An entire empire of drug rings popped up around Jellal's 'business', and I did my best to keep Jellal's identity away from both allies and enemies. He called himself Segrain on his job. We were good for a number of years... because Jellal isn't the monster you may have heard about on the news. That _thing _is what Ultear created. I knew who Jellal really was, but because of something in his past, Ultear was able to manipulate him into pretending to be that monster.

"But his old enemies attacked Jellal and I one day... and he was shot. In the back," Erza continued. "I rushed him to the hospital, and the doctors did everything they could to save him... because even if he was a criminal, it was their duty to help any injured human being, no matter who he or she is. I think they wanted to save his life more than anything only because they could arrest most of the criminals and shut down most of the crime in Era if they knew what Jellal knew. Jellal was linked to everything evil in Era."

"He made it, I think, from what I read in the news," Lucy said. "But he's been in a coma."

"He still is," Erza agreed. "From blood loss... he's been in a coma for three years now. I was arrested for 'consorting' with a known criminal, and put in prison with a sentence of three years and three months."

"So... you would get out in about two months, if it wasn't for the railroad," Gray said. Erza watched him for a few seconds. Ever since she had mentioned _Ulter, _he had been acting... weird.

"Yes." Erza stood up, thinking about Gray's reaction. _He must be connected to her in some way_. "It's time we get moving. We've rested enough."

Natsu stood up next. "Sorry about Jellal and everything, Erza, but we're here for you!"

Lucy followed the pink haired man, saying, "That's right! We might have not known each other for that long, but I can be your friend!"

"We'll all support each other," Gray said, giving what to Erza seemed to be a grin.

Erza's glare, almost always on her face, slowly disappeared into a small smile. Natsu cheered when he saw it, and Lucy clapped her hands.

"Let's move it," she ordered, the happy look still present, and the four of them left their chains by the river.

* * *

Zancrow blinked. And blinked again.

Just when some of the prisoners were starting to think that he had something in his eyes, Zancrow shook his head, muttering something, as he walked slowly down the railroad tracks where the prisoners were working.

"Good, good... nothin' happened when I was gone, right?" Zancrow asked, laughing. His laugh boomed through the surrounding area, echoing through the trees.

Then it cut off abruptly.

Zancrow was standing right where two people, a blonde woman and a pink haired man, were supposed to be working. Then his eyes traveled further down the line, where a woman with bright scarlet hair and a main with hair spiky black should have been.

But they weren't.

All that was left were broken shackles.

"How," was all Zancrow could say for several minutes. A few criminals stopped working to see why he was unhappy.

"Those four, they broke their chains and those four high tailed it," one man said. Zancrow whipped around to glare at the person who had spoken.

"They _what?" _Zancrow hissed.

"High tailed it."

Zancrow stood there, blinking stupidly again.

And screamed.

Running all the way back to the compound, he shouted for guards to, well, guard the prisoners working. They all stared at each other, confused, as Zancrow said something about a couple of escapees.

* * *

One Year Before

_Gray rolled out of his bed, rubbing his eyes as he attempted to get for the day. After a few minutes of getting dressed and trying to brush his hair before giving up, he staggered into the kitchen of the home._

_"Morning," he yawned as he walked past another young man who was reading the newspaper. The other greeted him before turning back to reading the news._

_The first boy went over to the stove, still yawning, as he turned it on. After pulling out the supplies and a couple of eggs, he was making scrambled eggs for his breakfast._

_"Do you want me to go see what Mom is up to?" he asked the other man, his brother._

_"Sure," the paper-reading man said, distracted as he read an article._

_The brother cooking eggs laughed. _21 years old and we both still live with our mother, _he thought. Although, they were both attending a local college, Gray had also saved up enough money to move out after school. Where he wanted to live, he had no clue._

_After putting the finished scrambled eggs onto his plate, he walked back down the hallway. Across from his bedroom door was his mother's room, and he opened it slowly and carefully._

_"Hello? Are yo__u awake?" he called out when he realized that she wasn't in her bed. He walked into the joining bathroom to see her fixing her hair, already dressed and ready for the day._

_"Of course I am!" His mother rolled her eyes, smiling__. "I need to leave for work soon. When does your first class start?"_

_"Ten," he replied, suppressing another yawn. "And it's only seven... I don't really have to be up yet."_

_His mother said nothing, but left the bathroom when finished fixing her short, dark hair. He followed her until he was back in the kitchen, and sat down with his breakfast. Their older sister walked in just as he had eaten the last bite of his eggs._

_"You saved none for me, little brother?" she asked, giving him a fake pout. He pushed her away in reply._

_"No way."_

_Their mother reappeared in the kitchen. _

_"See ya later," his brother told their mother._

_"Goodbye," Ur said. "I'll see you next week - I have to go away for work. __Ultear, you'll be late for your job if you don't hurry - and by the way, you're in charge while I'm gone. Lyon, do you see the time? I know that _your _first class at Era University is at seven fifteen. And Gray..."_

_She paused for a moment. "Have a good day, Gray."_

_Gray nodded, smiling back. "You too."_

_That was the last time Gray ever saw his mother..._

_Alive._

* * *

**Very sorry about late update! I forgot all about updating this fic. Updates from now on will be fast.**


	5. Chapter 5

_To write a tune you know will never die_

_Let's gather round and sing a song_

* * *

Zancrow couldn't alert the government if he wanted to keep his job. The guards at the compounds had misunderstood what he had said and hadn't really done anything or given any notion that they knew that some of the prisoners had escaped.

The blonde haired sheriff weighed his options. He could tell everyone that he had four people leave because he'd gone back for his rifle... and be fired. Or, he could go after them himself.

The second option seemed to be a lot better, although Zancrow knew he couldn't do it alone.

He would need some help.

Zancrow wasn't exactly what others would call a clean cop. He wasn't a trustworthy sheriff, either. In fact, the only reason he was a sheriff was because he needed a job with a gun and some action. Although at heart, Zancrow loved manipulating fire, shooting a gun had to be the second best requirement on a job.

So, he hadn't been very happy to be put on a job for babysitting criminals. _A boring job, _he had said, although with escapees it wouldn't be boring. While the guards watched the criminals, Zancrow took some "personal time" off so that he could drag back the escaped prisoners before anyone could notice. He only had a few days before someone would realize what was going on, so he couldn't waste time. At first Zancrow had been hoping it would take only a couple of hours, but now he realized that they were too far gone for him to catch them by nightfall.

So, Zancrow went to the worst bar he could think of in Era. There weren't that many - after Jellal, the man who had controlled almost all of the crime in Era, had been shot, criminal activity had decreased severely. Less murders, less people selling drugs, less _everyone_. Even those dingy bars where all of the low lives went to had all closed up. Except one, and that was the exact one that Zancrow was visiting that night.

He was looking for one man in particular - one he knew would not resist the offer to hunt down those four criminals. Because, he knew that there was at least one of those escapees that the man would want to hunt down.

_Erza Scarlet. _Zancrow had been pretty upset when he realized that the scary redhead had been one of those to escape - how in hell was he supposed to get _her _back?

But the man Zancrow was looking for would know how to.

He was known as a "Fairy Hunter" in the underworld, and Erza Scarlet was known as the "Fairy Queen" to those associated.

His name was Cobra.

Or, at least that was his code name. Because there had been a bank - Six Prayers Bank, lead by the wealthy, well known Mr. Brain. He was a respected man to the public. However, what the public hadn't known as that he was a corrupted man who got his power and money through less than legal means. And his top associates in the money business weren't his "associates"; they'd been his 'Six Prayers', or top hit men. Midnight, his son; Angel, the only lady; Racer; Hoteye; Koloda, resembled a stick more than a man; and Cobra. None of them ever used their real names when dealing with shady stuff; instead, they used their code names such as Cobra. When dealing with legal stuff, Cobra went by 'Erik'.

But that night, Zancrow didn't want Erik - he wanted Cobra.

And he knew that Cobra would want to capture Erza Scarlet because Erza had been the one who had not only defeated most of the Six Payers, but had also saved Jellal's life when Cobra's target had been to _kill _Jellal. After the fight, everyone in the Six Prayers as well as Zero had been arrested from what Zancrow knew.

Everyone but Cobra - he was the last one left while all of his old friends served lifetime sentences for murder and all sorts of crime-related offenses.

Pushing past a couple of drunk men and heading towards where the real bar was, Zancrow sat next to a man with darker skin than his own and red-purple hair. The man only had one eye, the other closed forever by a scar. He glared at everything with that one eye, seeming to look older than his real age.

"Cobra," Zancrow said. The man with one eye turned to face Zancrow.

"I heard you coming."

Zancrow almost groaned. He forgot about Cobra's odd way of speaking. However, he pulled himself together.

"You know Erza Scarlet, right?"

Cobra stiffened next to him, and an almost inhuman growl came out of his throat. "What about her?"

"Ya know how she was put in prison, right? Somethin' about being Jellal's accomplice?"

"I heard about that."

Zancow rolled his eyes.

"She escaped, and I need to get her before I lose my job. Are ya willin' to help me out?"

* * *

_Ultear..._

Gray wanted to push his past - which included his sister - to the back of his mind, but listening to Erza's story had only brought back painful memories. He remembered everything, crystal clear, and no matter how hard he tried he could never forget.

Ultear had been his older sister, and while she liked to tease her younger brothers, Gray still loved her. She was family, after all. But even she had dark secrets she never told her siblings.

Gray had always known that she was hiding something. Because she wouldn't tell them what it was, Gray wanted to find it out for himself. He would follow her in his free time, and whenever he saw her he would ask questions and pester her about her life. She would always laugh it off, or not reply, and then she would disappear for hours.

So Gray had once skipped a few days of his college education in order to follow her extensively. He'd had a feeling that whatever she was hiding wasn't good...

...And he had been right.

As they traveled through the forest, Gray had been so lost in thought that he hadn't realized he was slowly breaking apart from the group of escapees and falling behind as early sunshine flitted through the woods. They'd slept in the woods, something Gray had never had wanted to do, and it had been a full day since they had first escaped. All four were starving and thirsty as they hadn't found any clean water since the first river.

Walking faster, Gray finally caught up to them just as they reached a long bridge. It was old, crossing a river unsteadily. Some of the board were falling apart and all of them were worn, but it still hung up only about five feet above the river. The boards that connected to the banks were covered with more mud than showing wood. Two ropes tied on each end by a stake of wood half buried in the ground hung loosely.

"Can this thing support us?" he asked. He was tired after sleeping

"It better! I'm not going to swim across," Lucy said as she looked down at the water. It was a dark, murky brown - the same shade as the mud on the banks.

Gray noticed that Erza was already halfway across. She turned to face them when realizing that no one had followed her.

"Are you coming?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow. "This river water isn't as clean as the last river."

Natsu was next across, quickly crossing, and Lucy followed afterwards. Gray started to walk forward last, staring at the dirty water below.

"When do you think we'll reach civilization?" he said.

Erza said,"We should reach Magnolia eventually - it isn't too far away from Era, and I know that we were going the right way when we escaped... I would give us about two or three more hours, if we travel fast."

"Two or three more hours without food?" Lucy said, groaning.

"Yeah! I'm hungry!" Natsu agreed.

Gray's stomach rumbled. "Let's just forget about food for now," he said. "It's making me feel hungry."

* * *

Zancrow and Cobra had been following the escapees' trail ever since the sun had risen, using Cobra's strange dog that he had named "Cubellios". The large white bloodhound followed the scent easily, and Zancrow had a feeling that they would soon catch up to the criminals.

"I can see why you're known as the best tracker around," the man said dryly, mostly to himself, as Cubellios sniffed the ground eagerly. "You have a dog that can do all of the work for you."

"I heard that. That isn't all true. Cubellios finds the man, and I shoot him," Cobra replied, watching his dog. She barked as she moved forward through the trees. "Looks like she's found something."

Wearing a long white jacket, red pants, and a dark shirt, Cobra dressed like it was winter instead of the warm season that it was. Zancrow, sweating, wondered how he could live. Zancrow was only wearing pants yet felt like he would collapse from overheating. Cobra didn't even look a little warm.

"Found something?" Zancrow echoed.

"Yes... over there," Cobra said.

The two men followed the dog until they had reached a river. Cubellios moved around excitedly as Cobra and Zancrow quickly moved over to an old, sturdy log. In between the fallen tree and the river laid three sets of handcuffs.

"They must have broken them off with these stones," Cobra said as he held up one of the large, flat pebbles in his hand. "And then ran away."

"How far away do you think they are?" Zancrow asked, eyes brightening up.

Cobra glared at him with his one eye. "How should I know? Their trail is fairly recent; however, you said they only escaped yesterday. They could be anywhere from miles away to just a couple trees over, listening to our conversation."

Gritting his teeth, Zancrow moved closer to the chains. "Well, does your dog know which way they went?"

Cubellios was already crashing through the forest, veering away from the river. Cobra lifted an eyebrow. "What do you think?"

The master followed his dog, running away from Zancrow.

"Dammit," Zancrow muttered. "Why do I have to deal with him again?"

Several yards away, Cobra rolled his good eye.

"I heard that," he said, loud enough for the blonde man to hear him.

Cursing again, Zancrow started in a sprint, almost getting tangled in bushes and crashing loudly into piles of old leaves.

* * *

One Year Before

_Gray had been following Ultear for two days. Meaning, he'd been skipping his university classes for two days. He knew Ur would be mad at him if she were to find out, but he didn't care._

_Speaking of his mother, Ur had taken a short trip to another country to help out some refugees with a natural disaster that had occurred. Hurricane Deliora was sweeping through the lands and was traveling dangerously close to the city that Gray and his family lived in, Era. Ur had decided to volunteer to help the families who had lost their homes due to the hurricane, and was supposed to come back home a few days later._

_Gray's older sister, Ultear, had been placed in charge of the family until Ur came back, although she had been in and out of the house. Mostly out, taking very short trips back to where ever she was going. She was always like that - never really around home often._

_Of course, Ultear had no idea that Gray had been following her. All she had been doing, however, was take a visit to the grocery store, go shopping twice, walk around town. Her only strange action was that she would talk as if someone was there. Since Gray had always been walking, far away, he had no idea who she was talking to. It was odd because although she only talked on busier streets, yet Gray had not once seen the same one person any time that she could have been talking to._

_Then, on the third day, she disappeared._

_Gray had no idea how or why - he'd been walking down the street, watching Ultear walk several yards away from him. Gray had been restless and finally tried to catch up to her, but he glanced down for one second._

_When he had lifted his head up again, she was gone._

_Gray had looked around furiously. How could he have let her get away so easily? _

Maybe she's a bit farther ahead? _he wondered. It was a crowded street, so maybe she was right ahead and he just couldn't see her._

_But no matter where he looked, or how far he searched, she was gone. She simply was not on the street anymore. When he'd realized this, Gray had grit his teeth in anger and started to walk back home unhappily. The entire time, he was thinking about where she could have gone. The only buildings on the street had been shops that Gray wouldn't be interested in - a small store filled with beautiful glass vases, and a furniture store, for example._

_Yet there was no way she could just teleport or disappear - magic like that didn't exist._

_Gray scoffed. _

_Magic didn't exist, period._

_About an hour later he was back at home, eating lunch during what was supposed to be one of his college classes. He jumped up out of his chair with a start when he heard the front door open and voices flow in._

_"We'll have to do this quickly, now - my brother Lyon gets home from one of his classes soon, and Mother should be home by nightfall," Ultear said. Gray took his lunch and dumped near the sink before hiding behind a counter as Ultear and a tall, dark skinned man walked in._

_"At what time does your brother's class end?" the man asked in a deep voice. Gray peeked his head over the counter to see both people setting what looked like briefcases down on the kitchen table, where Gray's lunch had been moments before._

_"His second class ends at about one," Ultear replied, "And it's about a fifteen minute walk."_

_"Seeing as it is about twelve forty... we need to hurry."_

_"I know that, Azuma!" Ultear snapped. "Her safe is around here somewhere..." Gray's blood ran cold when she said the man's name. Azuma was an infamous and powerful criminal who completed the job, no matter what the costs were. __Azuma was incredibly ruthless... and incredibly dangerous. __And Ultear was working with him._

_"Aha! Here it is," he heard Ultear say as he ducked his head. It sounded as if she was near a bookshelf full of books and old mementos Ur collected on the Arctic. There was a _chink _as she placed something - glass, probably - on the kitchen table along with the thud of old books. Ultear was clearing away the shelf._

_"I heard you saw your brother Gray out in the city earlier," Azuma said in his deep voice._

_"I did," Ultear confirmed, "Although I slipped away from him in the crowds and hid out in the glass shop downtown."  
_

_"Ah. Did he see you?"_

_"I don't think so - he was probably too busy making sure his clothes stayed on," Ultear said in a humorous tone. Gray wanted to retort with a _"My clothes _do _stay on!" _but looked down at himself to see that no, his shoes were missing._

_Wait._

_His shoes were next to the entrance to the kitchen, where he'd left them upon arriving._

If Ultear sees them, she'll know I'm home, _Gray realized with horror. And he didn't want her calling him out when they were in the presence of such a dangerous criminal._

_The front door then opened again, just as Gray peeked again to see Ultear opening a false section of the wall and revealing a safe. Both Ultear and Azuma froze when hearing the door open, Ultear scrambling to put the false wall back into place and Azuma putting his right hand near his hip and taking out a small black item -_

_"Anyone home? The front door's unlocked!" Lyon called out. Gray's brother was home._

"Don't you dare, Azuma!" _Gray saw Ultear hiss at her accomplice, who was aiming his gun and keeping close to the wall. Lyon's footsteps grew closer as Gray filled with dread._

_"I have another order I must follow in stead," Azuma replied. "I apologize." _

_Lyon walked around the corner, confused._

_"Ultear? What - who is that - "_

_Then Azuma aimed and fired._


	6. Chapter 6

_And when the night is done_

_These chains will hold us strong_

* * *

The four had found another bridge, short but better built than the one before. Below the bridge was yet another river although Erza confirmed it was just a branch of the previous rivers they had encountered.

"This water may be clean... I'm not completely sure," she told the other three.

"That's fine, Erza - I'm so thirsty now that I couldn't care less!" Lucy replied in what she attempted as a cheerful tone. Her stomach growled as she spoke, signifying that she was also hungry.

It was a few hours after finding the last bridge, and all of them were ready for civilization and their new lives. They had talked more about what they wanted to do, although Lucy was the only one with a full, well thought out plan because of a full imagination and careful planning she had used from even before being arrested. The rest only had their own, different vague ideas and hopeful plans.

"We should probably take a break for now anyway," said Gray as he sat down on the bridge. "If they haven't seen us now, the cops are probably searching in the wrong direction." He didn't add "hopefully", but that was what everyone could tell he was thinking.

"Good idea," Lucy said as she too flopped down on the bridge. Erza slowly sat herself down but Natsu kept standing up, looking around.

"What is it, Natsu?" Lucy asked.

The pink haired man looked slightly troubled. "I keep thinking that I'm hearing footsteps... but maybe it's wildlife," Natsu said as he looked around in the trees surrounding them. So far, the four had attempted to stay off of the well known paths yet still going in the same direction as them in order to reach a town quicker. They'd had no luck reaching what was supposed to be nearby Magnolia, however, and all had dampened spirits.

"You could just be hearing things," Gray suggested. "Or it could just be a deer, or maybe a bird. Stop being so tense, moron."

Natsu glared. "I know I hear _something, _I'm just not sure _what _I'm hearing, so shut up."

"Jeez, you're such a drag-"

A twig snapped.

"That was a bit loud for a bird or deer," Lucy said slowly. Gray gave her a moody look, although silently agreed with her.

Leaves crunched.

"There's no way that isn't a human," Erza said. She stood up a lot faster than she had sat down, head whipping around in an attempt to find out the source of the noise. The four all felt varying degrees of panic at the unknown threat. "Everyone, look around you. Do you see where the noise is coming from?"

"I can't tell," Natsu replied in response to Erza's order. "But we need to move."

"Where?" Lucy cried. "How are we supposed to leave this place when we don't know where the police are or where this place even is?" As she spoke, obvious footsteps pounded closer and the yip of a dog was heard. The _click _of a gun sounded.

Gray cursed, Natsu's head whipped around, and Erza moved closer to the edge of the bridge as Lucy whimpered. "It's too late," Erza muttered. "Any moment now..."

_It's too late. We're going to be brought back to prison with an even longer sentence. They can see this as an opportunity to extend our sentences longer than what is usually lawfully allowed with the excuse of us being dangerous enough to escape. Too dangerous for civilization is what they'll say, and we may even be given life sentences... we don't deserve that. We're all good people put in bad situations._

"Wait - I have a plan!" Gray hissed.

* * *

Cobra's dog was growing excited - apparently, that was a sign of the escapees being close.

Zancrow felt continuously annoyed and yet, also relieved - it had barely been a day and a half and they were already rounding up the prisoners? So much for worrying about losing his job! In fact, Zancrow could always push the blame of the prisoners escaping in the first place on another guard, and take sole credit for capturing them again...

Zancrow imagined his big promotion, and all of the money that would come out of it. Maybe he would be able to leave the job of babysitting criminals, and instead be able to hunt down more "bad guys".

Never mind that Zancrow was practically a "bad guy" himself with his not-so-clean record of assault, arson, and some very unsavory charges. In fact, the only reason why Zancrow was in the police force was because he had a note on him from a very influential man named Purehito saying that Zancrow was a "good little boy who has promised to reform and be a good contribution to society."

Yeah, right. As if Zancrow could ever change his ways.

"They're close," Cobra said. "I can almost hear it."

"Almost?" Zancrow echoed lazily.

"Yes," came the answer from the darker skinned man. "But Kubelosis can definitely hear it. Right, Kubelosis?"

The dog yipped.

Zancrow groaned. Cobra was as smitten with his dog as Zancrow was with money and fire. And Zancrow was a greedy man who loved starting fires.

The blond sheriff increased his speed to match the excited dog's pace until all three were jogging through the forest. They soon came across a bridge Zancrow recognized as one about five miles out from Magnolia.

"We're a few miles from the Redfox Farmstead," Zancrow noted. "The family used to be a buncha drug dealers 'til the former owner - Metallica Fan, or something - decided to go clean. Made his son do the same thing, and not a spot on their records since." He laughed.

"What is so humorous about that?" Cobra asked as they approached the bridge.

"We shot the pop dead for turning his back on his former... coworkers," Zancrow explained with a snicker. "His son still got no clue who killed 'im."

"'We' as in the police...? No," Cobra corrected himself, "'We' as in your Grimoire Heart." Zancrow studied Cobra's face - he couldn't quite understand what the other man was thinking. A lot about Cobra was a mystery (other than his dog, of course), and so Zancrow could not understand why he thought he saw a little disgust on the bounty hunter's face.

Well, Oracion Seis may have not been a law-abiding company, but they were still not as brutal or dirty as Grimoire Heart. Because they had a front they had to keep up, Oracion Seis was closer to the straight and narrow as the Six Prayers also had to act civilized and refined during working hours. Zancrow could list some events where Grimoire Heart committed acts Brain's company would not even think of doing during daylight, such as turning on their own. Zancrow could think of one instance in particular...

"'We' as in Grimoire Heart," Zancrow agreed as they crossed the bridge. Cobra went still for a moment as well as his dog. "Wha - you see somethin'?"

"I could have sworn..." Cobra murmured. "No. I heard nothing. Let's move on."

They had no idea that as they walked off, Gray let a sigh of relief that Cobra hadn't heard his gasp at the mention of his sister's old gang. They also had no idea that the prisoners had been under their feet the entire time - there was a small joint of the bridge they were all crowded under, hoping to not be caught with their toes in the water and their heads near the floorboards.

* * *

_Lyon fell with a sharp intake of breath. There was a hole staining red on his chest._

_Ultear screamed. "Azuma - what the hell?! That's my brother!"  
_

_"What is the code to the safe, Utlear?" Azuma asked coldly._

_"It's... it's my birthday, why?" Ultear returned, tears forming in her eyes as she ran over to her brother. There was another "_Bang" _and she looked over to Azuma, eyes filled with shock. She looked at him in confusion and wonder before glancing down._

_Azuma had shot her in the back._

_"I have other orders," Azuma explained. "Orders to retrieve the safe and leave no survivors... including you. I apologize."_

_Ultear also collapsed, next to her brother Lyon. Gray looked upon the scene, horrified, wondering what in the world he was supposed to do as he watched his siblings die feet in front of him. Meanwhile, Azuma headed towards the back door with the safe in his arms. With a brief moment of hesitation, he moved back to the kitchen and saw Gray's shoes._

_Then he looked up at the counter to see Gray._

_"You - " Azuma started before stopping himself. He instead brought up the gun and shot. Gray ducked at the last second, missing the bullet by inches. There was another bang, and another bang before Azuma quit attempting to murder Gray as the front door opened - again._

_Ur was home early._

_Gray shook his head. He was _not _going to see his entire family on the floor dead! Gray vaulted himself over the counter, intending to pin Azuma to the floor and snatch the gun from his reach. He only got about halfway, however - and soon the two men were on the ground, wrestling for the gun._

_"Gray? Lyon? Ultear?" Ur called out. "What's going on?" She must have run into the kitchen, because then she gasped as she saw the scene. "Oh my god - Ultear! Lyon!"_

_"Ur!" Gray managed to choke out. "Az - ma - has gun - " He finally grabbed hold of the gun and threw it into the other room. Azuma cursed and threw Gray to the side. Dazed, Gray could only watch as Azuma reached for a chair and swung it at Ur._

_She must have only been knocked out. There was no way the chair could have done too much damage. But then Azuma was walking over to the gun, and picking up the gun, and aiming the gun, and shooting the gun, and - _

_Gray had just watched every member of his family die._

* * *

The four crawled out and went a different direction, one that led them to a large dirt path surrounded by trees and a small fence. Past some of the thinner trees they could see a large cornfield that seemed to have no end, meaning that there was probably a farmhouse nearby. Because of their surroundings the four assumed they were far into the countryside, where it would hopefully be harder for police to find the fugitives.

"I can't believe the bridge actually worked," Lucy said. "I would have thought that the tracking dog they were using would have realized the trail ended, but maybe they were too caught up in their conversation to realize that."

"They'll double back soon, and then we'll be in trouble again," Gray said. "We gotta get as far away as possible, as fast as possible."

Natsu only grunted. The others looked at him, surprised that he hadn't refuted Gray's statement or even tried to disagree with him, but then their stomachs rumbled again. They were all hungry - hungry enough not to fight, even.

Erza seemed to think about their situation for a moment before adding, "Our pursers are smart. I would give us only a few hours at most before they realize they need to turn around."

All four shared a similar thought - _If__ only there was a way for us to not leave a trail..._

They walked down the path for a while. There was little talking and little bickering, although every once in a while someone would point out a different looking cloud in the sky, or complain about hunger, or wonder just how long the road went. Although it seemed as if they had been walking down the dirt path forever, it was not long at all - the sun was only just starting to drop down in the sky.

"If I don't get some food soon, I'm eating Natsu," Lucy decided.

"Eat Gray... he's bigger than me!" Natsu whined halfheartedly.

"Huh? Who are you calling 'bigger'!"

Right before the two could really start fighting, Erza narrowed her eyes and told the others to shut up.

"Do you hear something, Erza?" Lucy asked the scarlet haired woman, who nodded but did not speak another word. This made Gray and Natsu take a step back from the girls to investigate the nearby trees and cornfield.

"I don't see anything," Natsu finally said - only to yelp in surprise as a dog shot out of the bushes right in front of him. He staggered back as Zancrow and Cobra followed. Zancrow readied his gun.

"I knew it," Erza hissed, eyes locked on Cobra. "Run!"

The four whipped around, sprinting back the way they had just come. Each of them carried the fear of being shot, hoping to put as much distance between Zancrow's gun and themselves as they could. _This is bad! _Lucy thought, terror being the only emotion she could feel.

...Meanwhile, Cobra and his dog watched Zancrow mess with his gun. "Are you sure you can get them?" Cobra questioned the corrupt policeman.

Zancrow snarled, aimed, and fired only to miss the four by a mile. Cobra shook his head.

"That's it," Cobra said with a deadly look on his face. "I'm going after them myself." He and his dog took off, Cobra as fast as a snake.

* * *

_Azuma aimed the gun at Gray last. Gray closed his eyes, waiting for his life and everything to all be over. He could almost see his entire life flashing through his eyes and despite feeling the need to live, Gray could not function after the shock of seeing his family die._

How does something like this happen? _he wondered. _How could my family be so unlucky to all die like this?

_It was all Ultear's fault, Gray decided as he thought of his sister dealing with a gang. But even while realizing that her mistakes were what cost his family their lives, he couldn't blame her. She hadn't meant for her family to die. She hadn't meant for _herself _to die. And she was family, so even though he knew he should blame her and would blame her if she was anyone else that had caused this, Gray still could not blame his family._

_All of those thoughts raced through his head within a second or two. Gray didn't move in the time in it took for Azuma to pull the trigger._

_However_,_ the gun had a tiny click instead of the usual bang. Azuma glanced at it and Gray opened his eyes to realize that the gun must have been out of rounds - it needed to be reloaded. He wanted to scramble to Azuma, whip the gun from his hands, and shoot Azuma himself with it - but he couldn't move. He was frozen. The shock had not yet left him._

_But a neighbor must have heard the disturbance of the deaths occurring before him. That was the only possibility for the next people to enter his house. Just then, more visitors came through the door. Gray wanted to shout for them to go away - they would die too - but it wasn't an innocent. It was the police, who announced that they were entering, that they were the official Fiorean Police and that they heard a ruckus and so they were investigating. They marched down the hallway, probably with their own guns loaded just in case._

_Azuma must have realized he had no time left to kill Gray, because he threw the gun at other who had managed to get to his knees. Gray grabbed the gun without thinking and got to his feet. He looked around for Azuma - to shoot him? To kill him? - but Azuma was gone through the back door._

_And so the police, upon entering the kitchen, saw only Gray with a gun and three dead bodies. Of course they assumed the worst. Of course they assumed that Gray was the bad guy - not a dangerous, deadly, gang member. Of course they assumed homicide._

* * *

**Lack of reviews leave me unsure if my writing is improving, or good or not. Please review telling me what you think, and how I might be able to do better! Reviews also give me motivation to write more, which is one reason why I have hardly updated this (the other would be a busy schedule, but the next month is supposed to be less busy so I can write more).**


End file.
